• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

33-2011 Firefighters

Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.

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National estimates for Firefighters
Industry profile for Firefighters
Geographic profile for Firefighters

National estimates for Firefighters:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Firefighters:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
321,450	1.0 %	$ 27.07	$ 56,310	0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Firefighters:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 14.02	$ 17.98	$ 24.85	$ 34.01	$ 40.75
Annual Wage (2)	$ 29,150	$ 37,400	$ 51,680	$ 70,730	$ 84,750

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Industry profile for Firefighters:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Firefighters are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Firefighters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Firefighters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	279,050	5.19	$ 27.82	$ 57,870
Other Support Services	19,780	6.26	$ 16.97	$ 35,300
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	11,950	0.56	$ 25.90	$ 53,870
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	7,550	0.36	$ 27.53	$ 57,260
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	570	0.18	$ 21.01	$ 43,700

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Firefighters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Other Support Services	19,780	6.26	$ 16.97	$ 35,300
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	279,050	5.19	$ 27.82	$ 57,870
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	11,950	0.56	$ 25.90	$ 53,870
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	7,550	0.36	$ 27.53	$ 57,260
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	570	0.18	$ 21.01	$ 43,700

Top paying industries for Firefighters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	70	0.06	$ 48.18	$ 100,220
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	50	0.01	$ 41.57	$ 86,470
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	330	0.02	$ 34.50	$ 71,770
Support Activities for Mining	(8)	(8)	$ 32.96	$ 68,550
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	279,050	5.19	$ 27.82	$ 57,870

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Geographic profile for Firefighters:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Firefighters are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Firefighters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Firefighters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	32,930	1.87	0.86	$ 37.67	$ 78,350
Texas	25,080	1.93	0.89	$ 25.79	$ 53,630
Florida	21,580	2.34	1.08	$ 27.19	$ 56,560
Ohio	18,790	3.50	1.61	$ 25.14	$ 52,290
Illinois	16,210	2.75	1.27	$ 32.71	$ 68,030

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Maine	2,280	3.73	1.72	$ 20.59	$ 42,830
New Hampshire	2,400	3.64	1.67	$ 24.11	$ 50,150
Ohio	18,790	3.50	1.61	$ 25.14	$ 52,290
North Carolina	16,140	3.47	1.60	$ 17.63	$ 36,660
Rhode Island	1,630	3.40	1.56	$ 29.02	$ 60,360

Top paying states for Firefighters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	32,930	1.87	0.86	$ 37.67	$ 78,350
New Jersey	6,310	1.54	0.71	$ 37.37	$ 77,740
Washington	7,200	2.11	0.97	$ 36.98	$ 76,930
New York	14,150	1.55	0.71	$ 35.35	$ 73,520
Hawaii	1,770	2.98	1.37	$ 35.04	$ 72,880

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Firefighters:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	15,120	1.65	0.76	$ 37.27	$ 77,520
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	13,150	2.98	1.37	$ 34.03	$ 70,780
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	8,310	3.07	1.41	$ 33.49	$ 69,660
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	7,200	1.18	0.54	$ 43.45	$ 90,380
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,160	1.88	0.87	$ 27.74	$ 57,700
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	6,930	2.29	1.05	$ 30.75	$ 63,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,260	2.30	1.06	$ 20.47	$ 42,570
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	5,610	1.84	0.85	$ 24.74	$ 51,460
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,590	2.13	0.98	$ 36.01	$ 74,890
Columbus, OH	4,350	4.10	1.89	$ 28.04	$ 58,330

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Redding, CA	540	7.97	3.67	$ 29.37	$ 61,090
Fayetteville, NC	950	7.39	3.40	$ 18.04	$ 37,510
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ	400	7.28	3.35	$ 20.90	$ 43,470
Hinesville, GA	130	6.49	2.98	$ 20.91	$ 43,500
Chico, CA	490	6.37	2.93	$ 30.47	$ 63,370
The Villages, FL	220	6.15	2.83	$ 20.23	$ 42,080
Mansfield, OH	290	6.10	2.80	$ 22.46	$ 46,730
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ	200	6.10	2.80	$ 19.77	$ 41,110
Leominster-Gardner, MA	310	6.08	2.80	$ 26.83	$ 55,800
Prescott, AZ	400	6.03	2.78	$ 22.27	$ 46,320